ERASMUS MUNDUS 2009-2013 Programme Guide for the attention and information of future applicants and beneficiaries The Programme Guide must be read in conjunction with the relevant annual Calls for Proposals and Guidelines to the Calls for Proposals for Action 2 which will provide detailed information on the specific grant application procedures. Please note that only the English version of the Erasmus Mundus Programme Guide 2009- 2013 is legally binding. All other linguistic versions are provided for information only. Version 11/2013
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ERASMUS MUNDUS 2009-2013
Programme Guide
for the attention and information of future applicants and beneficiaries
The Programme Guide must be read in conjunction with the relevant annual Calls for Proposals and
Guidelines to the Calls for Proposals for Action 2 which will provide detailed information on the specific
grant application procedures.
Please note that only the English version of the Erasmus Mundus Programme Guide 2009-
2013 is legally binding. All other linguistic versions are provided for information only.
8.1 LIST OF THE ERASMUS MUNDUS NATIONAL STRUCTURES ...................................... 85
8.2 LIST OF EU DELEGATIONS .................................................................................................... 85
8.3 USEFUL INTERNET ADDRESSES AND DOCUMENTS ...................................................... 85
4
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME GUIDE
Erasmus Mundus is a cooperation and mobility programme in the field of higher education for:
the enhancement of quality in European higher education;
the promotion of the European Union as a centre of excellence in learning around the world;
the promotion of intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries as well as for the
development of third countries in the field of higher education.
Erasmus Mundus provides a response to the challenges of globalisation faced by European higher education
today, in particular the need to adapt education systems to the demands of the knowledge society, to enhance
the attractiveness and visibility of European higher education worldwide and to stimulate the process of
convergence of degree structures across Europe. These themes are central to current national reform
processes in higher education taking place in Member States. In addition it provides an important vehicle for
the promotion or intercultural dialogue between the European Union and the rest of the world.
The programme continues and extends the scope of the activities already launched during its first phase
(2004-2008) and includes the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window scheme, which was launched
in 2006 as a complement to the original programme.
The decision establishing the second phase of the Erasmus Mundus Programme was adopted by the
European Parliament and Council on 16.12.2008 (Decision No 1298/2008/EC).1
The programme covers the
period 2009-2013 and has an overall budget of € 470 million for Actions 1 and 3 and an indicative budget of
€ 460 million for Action 2.
The European Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the Commission”) has entrusted the implementation
of the Erasmus Mundus Programme 2009-2013 to the Education, Culture and Audiovisual Executive
Agency (hereinafter referred to as “the Agency or "EACEA”). As a result, the Agency is responsible for the
management of this programme - including drawing up Calls for Proposals, selecting projects and signing
project agreements, financial management, monitoring of projects (assessment of intermediate and final
reports), communication with beneficiaries and on-the-spot controls - under the supervision of the
Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) as regards Actions 1 and 3, under supervision of
the Directorate-General Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid as regards EMA2-STRAND1, and
under supervision of the Foreing Policy Instruments Service (FPI)2 as regards EMA2-STRAND2. The
Agency is further responsible for the implementation of more than 15 European Union (EU) funded
programmes and actions in the fields of education and training, active citizenship, youth, audiovisual and
culture.
This Programme Guide applies to all EM projects3 and aims to assist all those interested in implementing
joint cooperation activities or receiving individual scholarships within the Erasmus Mundus Programme
(2009-2013). It should help them understand the objectives and the different programme actions, the types of
1 OJ 340, 19.12.2008, p. 83 2 The Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) is responsible for the operational and financial management of the budgets for
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Instrument for Stability (IfS), Industrialised Countries Instrument (ICI)1, Election
Observation Missions (EOMs) and press and public diplomacy (PPD). 3 Including those EM projects selected under the first phase of the EM Programme that are still running under the 2009-2013 phase
of the EM Programme.
5
activities that can (or cannot) be supported, as well as the conditions under which this support can be granted
and the grant awarded used.
Although, as stated above, the Guide is valid for the entire duration of the programme, future applicants
should read it in conjunction with the specific Call for Proposals to which they intend to apply. These Calls
for Proposals will be published in accordance with activities planned by the Commission in its annual Work
Programme and will provide additional information on the budgetary allocation foreseen as well as any other
relevant information and/or document specific to the Call.
All forms or documents needed to apply for funding are available on the Erasmus Mundus
programme's web pages (see http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/index_en.php).
1.2 PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
The programme's aim is to promote European higher education, to help improve and enhance the career
prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries, in
accordance with EU external policy objectives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of third
countries in the field of higher education.
The programme's specific objectives are:
to promote structured cooperation between higher education institutions and an offer of enhanced
quality in higher education with a distinct European added value, attractive both within the European
Union and beyond its borders, with a view to creating centres of excellence;
to contribute to the mutual enrichment of societies by developing the qualifications of women/men so
that they possess appropriate skills, particularly as regards the labour market, and are open-minded
and internationally experienced through promoting mobility for the most talented students and
academics from third countries to obtain qualifications and/or experience in the European Union and
for the most talented European students and academics towards third countries;
to contribute towards the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity
of higher education institutions in third countries through increased mobility streams between the
European Union and third countries;
to improve accessibility and enhance the profile and visibility of European higher education in the
world as well as its attractiveness for third-country nationals and citizens of the European Union.
The Commission shall ensure that no group of EU citizens or third-country nationals is excluded or
disadvantaged.
1.3 PROGRAMME STRUCTURE AND BUDGET
The Erasmus Mundus programme comprises three actions:
Action 1: Implementation of Joint Programmes at Masters (Action 1A) and Doctorate (Action 1B)
levels and award of individual scholarships/fellowships to participate in these
Support for high-quality joint masters courses (Action 1 A) and doctoral programmes (Action 1 B)
offered by a consortium of European and possibly third-country higher education institutions. Other
types of organisations concerned by the content and outcomes of the joint programme can participate
in the consortium.
Scholarships/fellowships for the third-country and European students/doctoral candidates respectively
to follow these Erasmus Mundus joint masters courses and doctoral programmes.
Short-term scholarships for third-country and European academics to carry out research or teaching
assignments as part of the joint masters programmes.
This Action will foster cooperation between higher education institutions and academic staff in Europe and
third countries with a view to creating poles of excellence and providing highly trained human resources.
Joint programmes must involve mobility between the institutions of the consortium and lead to the award of
recognised joint, double or multiple degrees to successful students / doctoral candidates.
The indicative budget breakdown and number of outputs foreseen for the different activities covered by
Action 1 in the period 2009-2013 should be the following4:
Expected number of
outputs by 2013
Estimated total
budget (in million €)
Joint Programmes
Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses (EMMCs) 150 19
Erasmus Mundus Doctorate Programmes (EMJDs) 35 6
Total Joint Programme 185 25
Individual scholarships / fellowships
Category A scholarships for Masters students5 5.300 245
Category B scholarships for Masters students 3.400 63
Category A fellowships for doctoral candidates 440 35
Category B fellowships for doctoral candidates 330 30
Scholarships for third-country scholars in EMMCs 1.900 28
Scholarships for European scholars in EMMCs 1.900 28
Total scholarships / fellowships 13.270 429
Total indicative budget 454
Action 2 – Erasmus Mundus Partnerships
Erasmus Mundus Partnerships aim at promoting institutional cooperation and mobility activities between
Europe and third-country Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This Action is built on the previous EU
4 This distribution is provided for information only and may vary over the course of the programme. 5 See definition of Categories A and B under sections 4.2.1 and 5.2.1 below.
7
programme External Cooperation Window (2006-2008) with a wider geographical coverage, a larger scope
and differentiated objectives.
Action 2 is divided into two strands:
º EMA2 - STRAND1: Partnerships with countries covered by the ENPI, DCI, EDF, IPA and ICI
º EMA2 - STRAND2: Partnerships with countries and territories covered by the Industrialised
Countries Instrument (ICI)7.
Action 2 provides:
Support for the establishment of cooperation partnerships between European HEIs and HEIs from
targeted third countries/territories with the objective of organising and implementing structured
individual mobility arrangements between the European and the third-country/territories partners.
Scholarships of various lengths - depending on the priorities defined for the third countries/territories
concerned, the level of studies or the particular arrangements agreed within the partnership - for
European8 and third-country/territory individuals (students, scholars, researchers, professionals).
Similarly to Action 1, the two strands of Action 2 pursue objectives of excellence. In addition to that, EMA2
- STRAND1 aims specifically at objectives of development.
Contrary to Actions 1 and 3, which are funded from the budget of the European Union allocated to the
education activities, Action 2 activities are funded by different financial instruments available in the context
of the external relations activities of the Union (i.e. the European Neighbourhood and Partnership
Instrument, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the Development Cooperation Instrument, the
European Development Fund and the Industrialised Countries Instrument). Because of the diversity in the
policy objectives covered by these financial instruments, but also due to the different needs and priorities of
the third countries concerned, Action 2 implementation rules may vary considerably from one year to
another and from one partner country to another.
The Action 2 chapter of the present Programme Guide is therefore limited to the common and stable aspects
of the Action for the five years of the programme, while detailed information on the third countries
concerned and the specific cooperation rules applicable to them will be defined in the Erasmus Mundus
Action 2 annual call for proposals.
An indicative overall amount of € 460 million has been proposed for the financing of Action 2 projects. This
budget should allow for the selection of approximately 100 cooperation partnerships whose funding will be
covered by the financial envelopes of the respective external policy instruments.
6 ENPI - European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
DCI - Development Cooperation Instrument
IPA - Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance
EDF - The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main European instrument for providing assistance for development
cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement: "the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and
Pacific Group of States of the one part and the European Union and its Member States of the other part".
ICI - Instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories. This includes the promotion of
people-to-people links to supplement Erasmus Mundus Action 2 and given the adoption of ICI revision on December 2011, it also
supports the mobility of the European Union students and academic staff to third countries (ICI + under the relevant Lots).
For more details on these instruments, see http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm 7 For more details on the ICI instrument, see http://eeas.europa.eu/ici/index_en.htm 8 The possibility to award scholarships to European individuals depends on the financial instrument used to fund the cooperation
activities with the third country concerned. Applicants are invited to refer to the annual Call for Proposals for detailed information
applicable to Action 2 cooperation activities with individual third countries.
Action 3 provides support to transnational initiatives, studies, projects, events and other activities aimed at
enhancing the attractiveness, profile, image and visibility of, and accessibility to, European higher education
in the world.
Action 3 activities relate to the international dimension of all aspects of higher education, such as promotion,
accessibility, quality assurance, credit recognition, recognition of European qualifications abroad and mutual
recognition of qualifications with third countries, curriculum development, mobility, quality of services, etc.
Activities may include the promotion of the Erasmus Mundus Programme and its outputs, and can be
implemented by mixed networks of European and third-country organisations active in the field of higher
education.
Action 3 activities may take various forms (conferences, seminars, workshops, studies, analyses, pilot
projects, prizes, international networks, production of material for publication, development of information,
communication and technology tools) and may take place anywhere in the world.
Action 3 activities shall seek to establish links between higher education and research and higher education
and the private sector in European and third countries, and exploit potential synergies whenever possible.
The Action 3 budget for the entire duration of the Programme amounts to € 16 million and should lead to the
funding of around 50 projects.
1.4 HOW TO PARTICIPATE IF YOU ARE…
1.4.1 A EUROPEAN9 HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (HEI)
10:
European HEIs can submit:
An Action 1 application proposing a joint programme at masters or doctoral level developed in
cooperation with partner universities from Europe and, if relevant, third countries. If the proposal is
selected, Erasmus Mundus funding will be awarded during five consecutive years (subject to the
renewal of the Programme beyond 2013) with the purpose of:
o contributing to the joint programme's implementation and management costs;
o offering scholarships/fellowships to European and third-country students / doctorate candidates
enrolled in the joint programme;
o (in the context of masters programmes only) offering short-term scholarships to European and
third-country scholars to carry out teaching and research activities in the context of the joint
programme.
An Action 2 application presenting a structured cooperation partnership targeted at specific non-
European countries/regions and composed of European and third-country HEIs from the geographical
area concerned, with the purpose of offering full and short-term scholarships to students, scholars and
professionals from the third countries and, if eligible, European countries concerned.
An Action 3 application presented on behalf of a consortium or network of European and third-
country HEIs/organisations active in the field of higher education with the objective of enhancing the
9 See Chapter 2 for the definition of European Institution. 10 For the purposes of Action 1 B - Joint Doctorate programmes, the concept of HEI includes also doctoral/graduate/research schools
and research organisations providing doctoral training and research activities and delivering recognised degrees at doctoral level:
see definition under Chapter 2.
9
attractiveness of the European higher education sector and to facilitate its cooperation with the rest of
the world.
1.4.2 A THIRD-COUNTRY HEI11
Although third-country HEIs can participate as active members of the consortium/partnership/network in
exactly the same actions as European HEIs, they cannot submit a grant proposal on behalf of the entire
consortium/partnership/network. Such applications have to be presented by European organisations.
1.4.3 AN INDIVIDUAL
Actions 1 and 2 of the Programme provide financial support to European and third-country individuals to
allow them to carry out study, teaching or research activities in the framework of selected consortia or
partnerships:
Joint Programmes Partnerships
European and third-country Individuals Action 1A
EMMC
Action 1B
EMJD
Action 2
Strand 1
Action 2
Strand 2
Bachelor students X
Masters students X X X
Doctoral candidates X X X
Post-doctoral candidates X X
Scholars/academic staff X X X
Administrative staff from HEIs X X
It should be noted that:
Under Action 2, the type of individual beneficiaries may vary in accordance with the specific needs
and objectives of the third country concerned as well as the financial instrument used to fund the
scholarships;
The award of individual scholarships to European scholars under Action 1A will depend on the
participation of a third-country organisation in the consortium concerned;
The definition of European and third-country individuals varies between Action 1 and Action 2 (for
more details see specific chapters on Action 1A, 1B and Action 2).
Individuals interested in an Erasmus Mundus scholarship have to apply directly to the selected Action
1 consortium or Action 2 partnership of their choice and go through a competitive selection process
organised by the partners involved. This selection process is organised in accordance with a procedure and
set of criteria designed by the consortium / partnership and approved in advance by the Agency. The lists of
consortia and partnerships are available at the following address; these lists are updated whenever new
consortia or partnerships are selected following a call for proposals.
They will be excluded from participating in Erasmus Mundus Calls for Proposals if they are in any of the
following situations:
a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered
into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings
concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for
in national legislation or regulations;
b) they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been
convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of
a Member State which has the force of res judicata;
c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the responsible
Authorising Officer can justify including by decisions of the EIB and international organisations;
d) they are not in compliance with their obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions
or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are
established or with those of the country of the responsible Authorising Officer or those of the country
where the grant agreement is to be performed;
e) they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been the
subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal
organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such illegal activity is detrimental to
the Union's financial interests;
f) they are subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article 109(1) of the Financial Regulation
Applicants, (co-)beneficiaries and scholarship candidates cannot be granted financial assistance if, on the
date of the grant award decision, they:
a) are subject to a conflict of interest;
b) are guilty of misrepresentingthe information required by the Agency as a condition of participation in the
grant award procedure or fail to supply that information;
c) find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion, referred to in Article 106(1) of the Financial
Regulation;
In accordance with Articles from 109 of the Financial Regulation, administrative and financial penalties may
be imposed on beneficiaries who are guilty of misrepresentation or are found to have seriously failed to meet
their contractual obligations under a previous grant award procedure.
To comply with these provisions, applicants and partners20
for a grant exceeding EUR 60 000 must sign a
declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in any of the situations referred to in Articles 106(1)
and 107 of the Financial Regulation.
18 REGULATION (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October
2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union ((therein referred to as the "Financial Regulation) 19 This provision does not apply for grants which are lower than or equal to EUR 60 000 (Article 131(4)(a) FR) 20 For Action 1 and 2 applications, this declaration on honour will be signed only by the applicant institution on behalf of its
consortium partners.
20
3.3 SELECTION CRITERIA
OPERATIONAL CAPACITY
Applicants and (co-)beneficiaries must have the professional competence and qualifications required to
complete the proposed project. In order to demonstrate this competence, an application for a grant above
EUR 60 000 will have to include the CVs of the persons responsible for the implementation and
management of the project within each of the partner institutions21
.
If applicable, the operational capacity of an applicant will be assessed taking into account the different
applications submitted by the same organisation/department in the context of the same call for proposals.
FINANCIAL CAPACITY
Applicants and (co-)beneficiaries must have stable and sufficient sources of funding necessary to maintain
their activity throughout the period during which the project is being carried out. In order to allow an
assessment of their financial capacity, applicants must submit, either with their application or prior to the
contractualisation stage (the procedure applicable will be specified in the application form attached to the
relevant call for proposals):
– a declaration on their honour, completed and duly signed, attesting to their status as a legal person and
that they have the operational and financial capacity to complete the proposed project and/or
– the Financial Identification Form22
completed by the applicant organisation and certified by the bank
(original signatures required).
3.4 FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
General Conditions Applicable to EU Grants
Applicants and future beneficiaries should be reminded that
EU grants are incentives to carry out projects that would not be feasible without EU's financial
support and are based on the principle of co-financing. They complement the applicant’s own
financial contribution and/or national, regional or private assistance that has been obtained elsewhere;
Each project may give rise to the award of only one EU grant to any one beneficiary. The award of
grants shall be subject to the principle of transparency and equal treatment;
Grants may not be cumulative or awarded retrospectively; however, a grant may be awarded for a
project that has already begun only where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the project
before the agreement is signed. In such cases, expenditure eligible for financing may not have been
incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application;
Acceptance of a grant application does not constitute an undertaking to award a financial contribution
equal to the amount requested by the beneficiary. Although the allocated amount may not exceed the
amount requested, a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant may be awarded;
The awarding of a grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years;
The EU grant may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit for the beneficiary23
. Profit is
defined as a surplus of receipts24
over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary, when the request
21 The number and nature of the CVs to be provided will be specified in the application form attached to the relevant call for
For this purpose the beneficiary will be asked to provide part or all of the the following documents, in
accordance with the requirements specified in the relevant application form:
Private organisations:
– Financial Identification form, duly completed and signed;
– extract from the official gazette/trade register, and certificate of liability to VAT (if, as in certain
countries, the trade register number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is
required).
Public law entity:
– Financial Identification form, duly completed and signed;
– legal resolution or decision established in respect of the public company, or other official document
established for the public law entity.
Information on the grants awarded
Grants awarded in the course of a financial year must be published on the website of the European Union
during the first half of the year following the closure of the financial year for which they were awarded. The
information may also be published in any other appropriate medium, including the Official Journal of the
European Union.
The beneficiary authorises the Agency to publish the following information in any form and media, inclusing
via the Interent:
- name and address of the beneficiary;
- subject of the grant;
23 The no-profit rule does not apply for grants lower than or equal to EUR 60 000 (Article 125(4)(e) FR ) 24 The notion of receipts shall be limited to income generated by the action/work programme and financial contributions
from third parties specifically assigned to the financing of eligible costs
22
- amount awarded and rate of funding
Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the Agency may agree to forgo such
publicity, if disclosure of the information indicated above would threaten the safety of the beneficiaries or
harm their business interests.
Publicity
Apart from the measures foreseen for the visibility of the project and the dissemination and exploitation of
its results (which are award criteria), there is an obligation of minimal publicity for each granted project.
Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union’s support in all communications or
publications, in whatever form or whatever medium, including the Internet, or on the occasion of activities
for which the grant is used. Furthermore, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and logo
of the European Commission on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products realised
under the co-financed project (for information on the logos to be used see
– Only candidates who have applied to and have been accepted by an EMMC consortium in accordance
with its specific students' application and selection criteria, are eligible for a scholarship.
27 See the definition of "European country" in Chapter 2 "Definitions and Glossary". 28 See the definition of "European country" in Chapter 2 "Definitions and Glossary". 29 For the purpose of the Erasmus Mundus Programme and for the applicant countries concerned, a HEI is deemed as being
recognised if it has been awarded an Erasmus University Charter under the Lifelong Learning Programme. If an applicant has not
been awarded an Erasmus University Charter, the Agency will check with the Erasmus Mundus National Structure concerned
whether the institution in question corresponds to the definition of HEI given in Article 2 of the Programme Decision. 30 While the award of an Erasmus University Charter under the Lifelong Learning Programme constitutes a valid proof of
recognition for European HEIs, the Agency will ask EU Delegations to liaise with the relevant authorities of the country concerned
in order to ensure that the third-country HEIs included in the consortium correspond to the definition of an HEI given in Article 2
of the Programme Decision.
26
– Students can apply for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to the Erasmus Mundus Action 1 joint
programme (EMMC) of their choice but the number of applications must be limited to maximum three
different joint programmes (EMMC and EMJD together).
– Each project may give rise to the award of only one EU grant to any student for the same joint course
over the length of the course concerned.
– In order to make the programme more attractive for third-country nationals, the amount of the full-study
scholarship will be higher for third-country masters students (Category A scholarships) than for
European masters students (Category B scholarships). More specifically:
– Category A scholarships can be awarded to third-country masters students selected by EMMC
consortia who come from a country other than a European country31
and who are not residents nor
have carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) for more than a total of 12 months
over the last five years in these countries32
.
– Category B scholarships can be awarded to European masters students selected by EMMC
consortia as well as to any masters students selected by EMMC consortia who do not fulfil the
Category A criteria defined above.
Students fulfilling the eligibility criteria for both Category A and B – e.g. students with a double
nationality – must select the Category of their choice. As a result, they are entitled to apply only to one
of the two categories of scholarship at a time.
– Scholarship candidates must have already obtained a first higher education degree33
or demonstrate a
recognised equivalent level of learning according to national legislation and practices.
– Individuals who have already benefited from an EMMC scholarship are not eligible for a second
scholarship in order to follow the same or another EMMC.
– Students benefiting from an EMMC scholarship cannot benefit from another EU grant while pursuing
their Erasmus Mundus masters studies.
– EMMC students scholarships are awarded exclusively for a full-time enrolment in one of the course
editions.
SCHOLAR CANDIDATES FOR AN EMMC SCHOLARSHIP
– EMMC scholarships will be awarded to European and third-country scholars in accordance with the
following criteria:
– Scholarships can be awarded to scholars enrolled in any third-country HEI who will be
selected by the EMMC consortium to contribute to the joint programme within the European partner
institutions.
– If the consortium includes third-country partners (either as full partners or associated partners),
scholarships can be awarded to scholars enrolled in a European HEI acting as a full partner
institution for the purpose of contributing to the joint programme within this(/these) third-country
partner(s).
31 See the definition of 'European country' in Chapter2 "Definitions and Glossary". 32 The five-year reference period for this 12-month rule is calculated backwards as from the submission deadline for Category A
applications by the EM consortia to the Agency. 33 Candidates who will only obtain their first higher education degree at the end of the academic year preceding the one concerned by
the scholarship application can nevertheless apply for a scholarship and be selected by the consortium concerned, under the
condition that they acquire the required degree prior to the beginning of the masters course edition concerned.
27
– EMMC scholars must demonstrate outstanding academic and/or professional experience and bring
concrete added value to the delivery of the EMMC.
– Only candidates who have been accepted by an EMMC in accordance with its specific scholars' selection
criteria are eligible for a scholarship.
4.2.2 ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
EMMCs are designed and implemented by consortia of HEIs from Europe and any other parts of the world.
Enrolled students will study in at least two of the European countries represented in the consortium and will
be awarded joint, double or multiple degrees on behalf of the consortium after the successful completion of
their studies.
An EMMC must:
– Last minimum one and maximum two academic years and must therefore carry between 60 and 120
ECTS credits at master level;
– Be fully developed at the time of the application and be ready to run for at least five consecutive editions
as from the academic year following the application year (e.g. an EMMC application submitted in April
of year “n-1” must be able to start the first edition of the joint course as from August/September of year
“n”);
– Involve European and third-country students and reserve every year a certain number of places for
Erasmus Mundus scholarship holders; this number will vary from one year to another and will be
communicated to selected EMMC consortia in the autumn of the year preceding the academic year
concerned34
;
– Start at the earliest in August of “year n” and end at the latest by the end of October of “year n+1” (60
ECTS courses) or “year n+2” (120 ECTS courses); the end date includes the communication of the
student's final results;
– Have joint student application, selection, admission and examination criteria; the students’ selection
procedure and criteria designed by the consortium will have to be approved by the Agency prior to
issuing the first specific grant agreement; the students’ application procedure and deadline should be
designed in such a way that it provides the students with all the necessary information well in advance
and with enough time to prepare and submit his/her application (i.e. in principle 4 months before the
deadline);
– Agree whether or not to establish tuition fees, in accordance with its members' national legislation.
When tuition fees are established, EMMC consortia should ensure that these fees are transparent and
clear to applicant students; two different fee amounts can be charged, on the one hand to European and
on the other to third-country students. In setting tuition fees, consortia should bear in mind the maximum
contribution to the EMMC participation costs included in the scholarship (see 4.4 below). If the tuition
fees established by the consortium are higher than this amount, the consortium should grant the Erasmus
Mundus scholarship holders a fee waiver for any fee amount in excess of this maximum contribution;
– Ensure that all full partners are in a position to be a hosting institution for EMMC students and deliver at
least the number of ECTS specified hereafter;
34 As an indication, the number of students scholarships will most probably vary between 7 and 17 scholarships per edition
depending on the "seniority" of the EMMC.
28
– Be designed in a way that allows students to carry out a mobility period in at least two of the European
countries represented in the consortium35
; each of these mandatory mobility periods must include a
volume of study/research or equivalent (e.g. field work, laboratory activities, work placement or thesis
research, etc.) corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for one-year EMMCs and 30 ECTS for EMMCs of a
longer duration;
– Without prejudice to the language of instruction, provide for the use of at least two European languages
spoken in the countries visited by the students during their EMMC studies and, as appropriate, offer
language preparation and assistance for students, in particular by means of courses organised by the
institutions in question;
– Guarantee the award on behalf of the consortium of joint, double or multiple degree(s) to all successful
students36
(covering the entire study programme); programmes resulting in the award of joint degrees
will be promoted; this/these degree(s) must be recognised or accredited by the European countries in
which the participating institutions are located. This eligibility condition must be fulfilled at the latest at
the time of enrolment of the first Erasmus Mundus students37
; failure to do so may lead to the
cancellation of the Erasmus Mundus funding;
– Have put in place an insurance scheme that guarantees that students are adequately covered in case of
accident, injury, illness, etc. while participating in the EMMC38
;
– Implement the necessary measures to assist Category A students and third-country scholars in obtaining
their required visa and residence permits39
;
– Develop a common and clear promotion and visibility strategy for the course including, in particular, a
dedicated EMMC website referring explicitly to the Erasmus Mundus Programme and providing all
necessary information about the course from the academic, financial and administrative points of view;
– Be based on an EMMC Agreement signed by the appropriate governing body of the partner HEIs and
covering the most relevant aspects of the course implementation, financing and monitoring;
– Offer the necessary facilities to students (e.g. international office, housing, coaching, assistance with
visas, etc.), including where necessary services for family members of grantees and grantees with special
needs.
Although EMMCs can operate in any field of study, from single specialised subjects to broader multi-track
study areas, applicants are nevertheless invited to consult the annual Calls for Proposals in order to identify
possible thematic priorities for the selection year concerned.
EMMC students holding an Erasmus Mundus scholarship must:
– Commit themselves to participate in the masters programme in accordance with the terms defined by the
consortium in the Student Agreement40
. Failure to do so could lead to the cancellation of the
scholarship;
35 The study programme and mobility tracks must be designed in a way that allows third country students to complete the totality of
their EMMC studies in Europe. 36 Double or multiple degrees are defined as two or more national diplomas issued officially by two or more institutions involved in
an integrated study programme. A joint degree is defined as a single diploma issued by at least two of the institutions offering an
integrated study programme. 37 Applicants are advised to contact their Erasmus Mundus National Structure in order to seek information and assistance on the
recognition status of their degree in the national context. 38 See insurance minimum requirements on: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/index_en.php 39 See Council Directive 2004/114/EC of 13 December 2004. 40 Examples of student agreements can be found at: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/tools/good_practices_en.php. These
are given as examples only: the Agency is not responsible for their content.
For Category A scholarships: the minimum scholarship amount for students is € 14 000 for a 10-month
EMMC (e.g from September of year "n" to June of "year n+1") if the contribution to EMMC participation
costs is € 0. If the contribution to participation costs reaches the maximum threshold of € 4 000 per semester,
the maximum scholarship amount for students is € 48 000 for a two-year (/24–month) EMMC.
For Category B scholarships: the minimum scholarship amount for students is € 5 000 for a 10-month
EMMC without mobility to a third country, if the contribution to EMMC participation costs is € 0. The
maximum scholarship amount for students is € 23 000 for a two-year EMMC with mobility to a third
country full/associated partner, if the contribution to participation costs reaches the maximum threshold of €
2 000 per semester.
For scholar scholarships: the minimum scholarship for an individual scholar is € 2 400 for a two-week stay
and the maximum scholarship is € 14 400 for a three-month stay.
The scholarship amounts will be paid to the EMMC consortia in the context of the specific grant agreements
issued for each edition of the course46
. It is the responsibility of the consortium to ensure that the scholarship
is paid to the student/scholar in the following way:
o Amount I (Contribution to the student’s travel, installation, visa related costs and other personal
costs) will have to be paid:
o For Category A scholarships, at the end of the registration process, either in full (for EMMCs
lasting one academic year) or in two instalments (for EMMCs of a longer duration).
44 “Participation costs” must be understood as any compulsory administrative/operational cost related to the participation of the
student in the EMMC (e.g. library, laboratory, tuition, social security and insurance costs, etc.). Any other costs that may be
charged in addition (e.g. for participation in fieldwork activities), being compulsory or voluntary, must be communicated to the
candidate student at application stage. 45 The number of monthly allowances is calculated from the start to the end of the course and includes, if applicable, the summer
break between two academic years. 46 For newly selected EMMCs, the first Specific Grant Agreement will be issued during the second quarter of the year following
their selection by the Agency.
33
o For Category B scholarships, in preparation of the mobility period in the third country.
o Amount II (Maximum contribution to the EMMC participation costs - including insurance coverage)
can be collected by the EMMC consortium directly on the condition that the student has signed a
“student agreement” with the consortium in which the amount and the costs covered by it have been
clearly indicated. Although the EMMC consortium is free to define the appropriate amount of
participation costs to be charged to participating students, when determining these costs the
consortium should bear in mind the maximum contribution to the EMMC participation costs included
in the scholarship. If the tuition fees established by the consortium are higher than this amount, the
consortium should grant the Erasmus Mundus scholarship holders a fee waiver for any fee amount in
excess of this maximum contribution.
o Amount III (Monthly allowance) must be paid on a monthly basis and in full to the student’s
personal bank account.
o Amount IV (Living allowance (including travel costs): in accordance with the needs of the scholar.
The scholarship amount may be increased in order to help cover the additional costs of students with special
needs; EMMCs concerned will have to inform the Agency accordingly in the context of their annual student
scholarship applications.
EMMCs should be aware of the taxation policies applied to individual scholarships in the different
participating countries and inform the scholarship holders accordingly. For more information, EMMCs are
invited to consult the Erasmus Mundus National Structure concerned (see list under Chapter 8).
For further information on the management of the scholarship, please refer to the EM Financial and
Administrative Handbook published on the EACEA website:
4.7 CONDITIONS FOR USING THE ERASMUS MUNDUS BRAND NAME
(EMBN)
As stated under section 3.5 "Publicity", the reference to the Erasmus Mundus programme and its related
brand names – such as “Erasmus Mundus Masters Course (EMMC)”, “Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate
Programme (EMJD)”, “Erasmus Mundus Partnership” or “Erasmus Mundus Project” – for the promotion
and dissemination of their activities and results, is exclusively restricted to selected proposals.
The only exception to this rule concerns those EMMCs that have been funded for 5 consecutive years/course
editions and whose funding was not renewed for reasons independent of their actual quality (e.g. for
budgetary reasons).
For these courses to continue to refer to the Erasmus Mundus programme name, the conditions are as
follows:
1. the EMMCs concerned must have been funded by the Erasmus Mundus programme for a minimum of
five consecutive years/EMMC editions;
2. they must have submitted an application in the context of the Action 1 A annual call for proposals,
whose score at the end of the evaluation and selection process must be at least 75% of the maximum
score;
3. they must formally commit to respect the Erasmus Mundus Action 1 A requirements as specified under
section 4.2.2 of the Guide, and to maintain the high quality of implementation demonstrated during their
years of funding;
4. they must demonstrate that the relevant national accreditation bodies will recognise the degrees (joint,
double or multiple) intended to be delivered to successful students at the end of the masters course
edition concerned by the EMBN.
If these conditions are not met, the Agency will automatically withdraw the course's authorisation to refer to
the Erasmus Mundus programme in its information or promotion activities.
Finally, please note that the award of an EMBN applies to one course edition (student intake) only and
can only be renewed once, on the condition that a new Action 1 application is submitted in the context of
the next Erasmus Mundus Action 1 call for proposals, and that the four EMBN conditions mentioned above
continue to be respected. If, after two consecutive editions of the course under the EMBN, the EMMC is not
among the joint programmes proposed for funding, all reference to Erasmus Mundus will have to be deleted
from the consortium's information and promotion materials.
37
5 ACTION 1 B: ERASMUS MUNDUS JOINT DOCTORATE
PROGRAMMES (EMJD)
5.1 INTRODUCTION
In many European countries and in other areas of the world, doctoral training is currently going through an
intensive cycle of reflection and reforms whose pace and nature vary in accordance with the country, the
type of HEI or the fields of study concerned.
Although there is no European consensus for a single “Doctoral programme model”, or for any kind of
“European Joint Doctorate”, some clear trends may be identified. These aim, on the one hand, to clarify and,
to a certain extent, formalise the nature of doctoral training (on issues such as objectives, access, status of
doctoral candidates, duration, recognition, links with research and/or the economic sector, etc.) and, on the
other hand, to pool resources and close the gaps between fields of study, academia and society (through, for
instance, the creation of doctoral/ graduate/research schools or “co-tutelle” arrangements, joint ventures and
spin-offs between HEIs, research organisations and enterprises.)
In this respect, the EMMC model, with its high level of integration combined with the wide diversity of
approaches, appears to be an ideal basis on which participating HEIs will be able to experiment and build
new models for future European Joint Doctorates.
While the European Commission already has long-standing experience of awarding financial support to
young researchers, including doctoral candidates, through the Marie Curie fellowship scheme and in
particular the Initial Training Networks, EMJDs have to be seen as complementary to these funding schemes
in terms of the focus they bring to the doctoral programmes themselves and their institutional dimension, as
well as the contribution they make to the shaping of doctoral studies in the European Higher Education Area.
As a result, the primary aim of EMJDs is to develop structured and integrated cooperation in higher
education, in order to design and implement common doctoral programmes that lead to the award of
mutually recognised joint, double or multiple doctorate degrees.
Therefore, beyond the research activities themselves and the individuals involved, the institutions have to be
seen as the key target of the Programme. They are expected to contribute to the promotion of innovative
models for the modernisation of doctoral studies, focusing on institutional cooperation and the development
of joint governance models (i.e. recruitment, supervision, assessment, awarding of degrees and fee policy).
In this context, EMJDs should:
contribute to the advancement of knowledge, including in its professional context, through original
and independent research;
address new challenges in scientific but also in socio-economic terms;
contribute to reinforcing the links between universities/research organisations and other sectors
(including industry, commerce and the service sector) in order to strengthen the transmission and
exploitation of knowledge and to enhance the innovation process;
become a reference at European level and thus contribute to improving the overall quality of doctoral
education and research in Europe.
From the point of view of doctoral candidates, the EMJDs should explicitly address the issue of
employability and therefore:
38
provide appropriate professional career development opportunities beyond academia, towards a wider
employment market;
provide appropriate incentives for candidates from developing countries to return home and exploit
their experience for the benefit of their country.
From a practical point of view, EMJDs are implemented on a similar basis to EMMCs. Selected EMJD
consortia are offered financial support for the implementation and management of their doctoral programme
for five consecutive years. Each year a certain number of fellowships are offered to European and third-
country doctoral candidates selected by the consortium.
The following sections provide all the necessary information for European and third-country HEIs wishing
to design and implement an EMJD. They also provide the minimum eligibility and financial conditions
applicable to individual grant fellowship holders. Since the selection, recruitment and further monitoring of
these individual fellowship holders fall under the responsibility of the EMJD, applicant consortia are invited
to pay particular attention to these eligibility conditions.
For more information regarding research in Europe (rights and obligations, national regulations etc.) you
may also visit the EURAXESS portal under the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/index_en.cfm.
5.2 EMJD - ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The submission deadline and all other formal eligibility criteria specified in the relevant annual call for
proposals and its annexes (in particular the application form) must be respected.
5.2.1 ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS AND CONSORTIUM COMPOSITION
EMJD CONSORTIUM COMPOSITION
– The consortium in charge of the implementation of the EMJD is composed of the applicant organisation
and its partners. For contractual and financial management issues, “associated partners” are not
considered as part of the consortium.
– The minimum eligible consortium consists of three full partner HEIs entitled to deliver doctorate
degrees, located in different European countries48
, at least one of which must be an EU Member State.
EMJD APPLICANT / COORDINATING INSTITUTION
– Applicants must be either:
– a HEI located in a European country49
, entitled to deliver doctorate degrees and recognised as such
by the relevant authorities of the country concerned50
;
– a Doctoral/Graduate/Research School or Research Organisation located in a European country,
entitled to deliver doctorate degrees and recognised as such by the relevant authorities of the country
concerned.
48 See the definition of "European country" in Chapter 2 "Definitions and Glossary". 49 In order for a project submitted by a country not member of the EU to be eligible under Action 1, an agreement (or a
Memorandum of Understanding or an EEA Joint Committee Decision) establishing the participation of this country in the
Erasmus Mundus programme should be in force by the date of the selection decision (at the latest in October of the year preceding
the first edition of the EMJD). Should this not be the case, organisations from the country concerned will be considered as third
country organisations entitled to participate in projects but not to submit or coordinate them. 50 For the purpose of the Erasmus Mundus Programme and for the applicant countries concerned, a HEI is deemed as being
recognised if it has been awarded an Erasmus University Charter under the Lifelong Learning Programme. If an applicant has not
been awarded an Erasmus University Charter, the Agency will check with the Erasmus Mundus National Structure concerned
whether the institution in question corresponds to the definition of HEI given in Article 2 of the Programme Decision.
Please note that (branches of) third-country HEIs located in eligible applicant countries or branches of
European HEIs located in other countries are not considered as eligible applicants.
EMJD FULL PARTNERS
– Any organisation, particularly HEIs, doctoral/graduate/research schools and research organisations, that
contributes directly and structurally to the implementation of the EMJD by recruiting/employing/hosting
eligible candidates and providing teaching/training modules or research opportunities can be considered
as a full partner. Full partners are expected to play a structural role in the EMJD governing structure(s).
EMJD ASSOCIATED PARTNERS
– Any other organisation involved in the EMJD implementation or monitoring can be considered as an
“associated partner” of the consortium. This applies more specifically to socio-economic partners (i.e.
commercial enterprises, in particular SMEs, public authorities or organisations, non-profit or charitable
organisations, international/European interest organisations, etc.) that can propose, support and
accompany - over a mid- and long-term perspective - specific research projects, contribute to the transfer
of knowledge and results as well as the innovation process, assist in the promotion, implementation,
evaluation and sustainable development of the EMJD.
DOCTORAL CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE FOR AN EMJD FELLOWSHIP
– Two different EMJD fellowships can be awarded to doctoral candidates:
– Category A fellowships can be awarded to third-country doctoral candidates selected by EMJD
consortia who come from a country other than a European country51
and who are not residents nor
have carried out their main activity (studies, work, etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the
last five years in these countries52
. The only exception to this rule applies to third-country doctoral
candidates who have previously received an Erasmus Mundus masters scholarship in order to follow
an EMMC.
– Category B fellowships can be awarded to European doctoral candidates selected by EMJD
consortia as well as to any doctoral candidates selected by EMJD consortia who do not fulfil the
Category A criteria defined above.
Fellowship candidates fulfilling the eligibility criteria for both Category A and B – e.g. students with
double nationality – must select the Category of their choice. As a result, they are entitled to apply only
to one of the two categories of fellowship at a time.
– Fellowship candidates must have already obtained a first post-graduate degree or demonstrate a
recognised equivalent level of learning according to national legislation and practices53
.
– Individual EMJD fellowships are awarded exclusively for full-time enrolment in one of the doctoral
programmes.
– Individuals who have already benefited from an EMJD fellowship are not eligible for a second grant.
– Doctoral candidates benefiting from an EMJD fellowship cannot benefit from other EU grants while
carrying out their Erasmus Mundus doctoral activities.
51
See the definition of 'European country' in Section 2 "Definitions and Glossary". 52 The five-year reference period for this 12-month rule is calculated backwards as from the submission deadline for Category A
applications by the EM consortia to the Agency. 53 Candidates who will only obtain their postgraduate higher education degree at the end of the academic year preceding the one
concerned by the fellowship application, can nevertheless apply for a doctoral fellowship and be selected by the consortium
concerned, under the condition that they acquire the required degree prior to the beginning of the joint doctorate programme
concerned.
40
– Only candidates who have applied to and have been accepted by an EMJD consortium in accordance
with its specific doctoral candidate’s application and selection criteria are eligible for a fellowship.
– Students/Doctoral candidates can apply for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship/fellowship to the Erasmus
Mundus Action 1 joint programme (EMMC or EMJD) of their choice but the number of applications
must be limited to maximum three different joint programmes.
5.2.2 ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
EMJDs are designed and implemented by consortia of HEIs and socio-economic partners from Europe and
any other parts of the world. Enrolled doctoral candidates will receive high-quality training and carry out
their research activities in at least two of the European countries represented in the consortium; after the
successful completion of the programme, they will be awarded, on behalf of the consortium, a double,
multiple or joint doctorate degree.
An EMJD must:
– Be designed as a training and research programme that will be completed by the candidates within a
maximum period of 4 years. Although the candidate must complete his/her doctoral activities within a
maximum period of 4 years, the EMJD fellowship will cover a maximum period of 3 years;
– For EMJDs lasting 4 years, ensure that the fellowship holders are supported during their fourth year
under similar conditions to those applied during the three years covered by the EM fellowship;
– Be fully developed at the time of the application and be ready to run for at least five consecutive editions
as from the academic year following the application year (e.g. an EMJD application submitted in April
of "year n-1” must be able to start the first edition of the joint programme as from August/September of
"year n”);
– Involve doctoral candidates from Europe and third countries and reserve every year a certain number of
places for Erasmus Mundus fellowship holders; this number will vary from one year to another and will
be communicated to selected EMJD consortia in the autumn of the year preceding the following edition
of the joint programme54
;
– Ensure that, on a yearly basis, all recruited candidates start their doctorate activities between August
“year n” and March “year n+1” and that they complete these activities (including the thesis defence) at
the latest by October of “year n + 4”;
– Have a joint governance structure with joint admission, selection, supervision, monitoring and
assessment procedures;
– Agree whether or not to establish tuition fees, in accordance with its members' national legislation.
When tuition fees are established, EMJD consortia should ensure that these fees are transparent and clear
to doctoral candidates. In setting tuition fees, consortia should bear in mind the fixed contribution
awarded to the consortium for the doctoral candidate participation costs (see 5.4 below). If the tuition
fees established by the consortium are higher than this amount, the consortium should grant the Erasmus
Mundus fellowship holders a fee waiver for any fee amount in excess of this fixed contribution;
– Include training/research periods in at least two of the European countries represented in the consortium.
Each of these mobility periods must be instrumental to the fulfilment of the programme and last for at
least six months (cumulative or consecutive);
– Ensure that candidates spend at least two thirds of their doctoral programme in Europe for the period
covered by the fellowship;
54 As an indication, the number of fellowships will most probably vary between 6 and 10 per edition of the joint programme.
41
– Guarantee the award on behalf of the consortium of a joint, double or multiple degree(s) to all successful
candidates55
; programmes resulting in the award of joint degrees will be promoted; this/these degree(s)
must be recognised or accredited by the European countries in which the participating institutions are
located;
– Offer "employment contracts56
" to their Erasmus Mundus fellowship holders57
except in adequately
documented cases where national regulation would prohibit this possibility. If such a contract may not be
awarded (this will have to be duly justified in the application form), the EMJD consortium may opt for
another approach compatible with national legislation and the necessary social security coverage for the
fellowship holders;
– Ensure that all the eligibility conditions applicable to Erasmus Mundus fellowship holders enrolled in the
doctorate programme are fully met in accordance with the criteria defined under section 5.2.1 above;
– Ensure with a written confirmation that it has received (a) favourable opinion(s) of the relevant ethics
committee(s) and, if applicable, the regulatory approval(s) of the competent national or local
authority/ies in the country in which the research is to be carried out before beginning any approved
research requiring such opinions or approvals. The copy of the official approval from the relevant
national or local ethics committees may also be provided to the Agency, if requested58
;
– Be based on an EMJD Agreement signed by the appropriate authorities of the full partner organisations
and covering the most relevant aspects of the programme implementation and monitoring;
– Without prejudice to the language of instruction, provide for the use of at least two European languages
spoken in the countries where the HEI involved in the EMJD are situated and, as appropriate, offer
language preparation and assistance for doctoral candidates, in particular by means of courses organised
by the institutions in question;
Although all domains of research and technological development are eligible for funding, the scope of these
domains should be clearly defined in the proposal in order to guarantee the implementation of innovative
approaches and ensure that the Erasmus Mundus programme objectives and priorities are fully addressed.
The proposed EMJDs should cover identified and recognised areas of excellence in which new paradigms
and new approaches are needed. Based on a bottom-up approach, the applicants will be free to identify these
areas. If relevant, the annual call for proposals may define specific thematic priorities.
Doctoral candidates holding an Erasmus Mundus fellowship must:
– Commit to participate in the doctoral programme in accordance with the terms defined by the
consortium in the Doctoral candidate agreement (see 5.5 below). Failure to do so could lead to the
cancellation of the fellowship;
55 Double or multiple degrees are defined as two or more national diplomas/degrees issued officially by two or more institutions
involved in an integrated study programme. A joint degree is defined as a single diploma/degree issued by at least two of the
institutions offering an integrated study programme. 56 See definition under Chapter 2. 57 Although the requirement on employment contracts applies specifically to Erasmus Mundus fellowship holders, the extension of
this recruitment approach to all doctoral candidates enrolled in the EMJD is recommended.. 58 The check on the ethics issues will be carried out at the stage of the selection of candidates. Details on the relevant ethics issues are
provided in the application form that is sent directly to the cConsortia for the selection of Doctoral Candidates. More information
regarding the ethics issues in general is also available in the Call for Proposals FP7-PEOPLE-2010-ITN under the following link:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=247 and also in the following link:
– Perform their training/research periods in at least two European countries represented in the consortium;
for Category B fellowship holders, two of the countries visited during the EMJD activities must be
different from the country in which the doctoral candidate has obtained his/her last university degree59
;
– Spend most of the doctorate period in the European countries represented in the consortium or among
the associated partners. However, if the EMJD consortium includes third-country full and/or associated
partners:
– Category A fellowship holders can spend a training/research/ fieldwork period of a maximum
duration of one semester (or 6 months, cumulative or consecutive) in these countries and only if
different from the student's country of origin; periods in excess of this duration may not be covered
by the EMJD fellowship.
– Category B fellowship holders can spend up to one year (cumulative or consecutive) of their
doctorate activities in these countries; periods in excess of this duration may not be covered by the
EMJD fellowship.
5.3 EMJD - AWARD CRITERIA
The selection of EMJDs will be a competitive process organised by the Agency and based on the assessment
of the quality of the proposal from the academic, research and organisational points of view. This assessment
will be based on the following five award criteria. (For each award criterion, the application form will
include specific questions addressing in detail each of the issues concerned):
Criteria Weight
Academic and research quality 25%
Partnership experience and composition 25%
European integration and functioning of the programme 20%
Provisions for candidates granted an EMJD fellowship 15%
Management, sustainability and quality assurance of the programme 15%
Total 100%
Academic and Research quality (25% of the final mark)
Under this award criterion applicants will have to present the objectives of their EMJD proposal from an
academic and research point of view and its possible contribution to the excellence, innovation and
competitiveness of the European Higher Education and Research areas.
Partnership experience and composition (25% of the final mark)
This award criterion will be used to assess the adequacy of the partnership to the objectives of the
programme and in particular the scientific excellence of the consortium partners as well as their education,
research and innovation capacities.
European integration and functioning of the programme (20% of the final mark)
This criterion will focus on issues related to the way the EMJD will be implemented in and between the
partner institutions concerning the delivery of the doctoral programme itself
59 Doctoral candidates with a joint, multiple, double degree can select the award country of their choice.
43
Provisions for EMJD candidates and fellowship holders (15% of the final mark)
This criterion will address aspects such as the overall promotion and marketing strategy, the existence of
arrangements for the administration of the fellowships, the recruitment conditions and the support to the
candidates as regards linguistic aspects, career prospects and services
Programme Management and Quality Assurance of the EMJD (15% of the final mark)60
This criterion will explore the the overall organisational arrangements and cooperation mechanisms within
the consortium and will also look into the foreseen evaluation and sustainability plans as well as the
existence of complementary funding.
5.4 EMJD - FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
Financial contribution to the EMJD’s running costs
Each project may give rise to the award of only one EU grant to any end-beneficiary (i.e. consortium,
student or scholar) for the same joint programme over the length of the programme concerned.
The financial contribution to the internal management costs of the EMJD will correspond to a lump-sum of €
50 000 per edition of the joint programme (i.e. € 15 000 per participating organisation, limited to a
maximum total of € 45 000, and an additional amount of € 5 000 for the coordinating organisation).
In addition, each fellowship will include a fixed amount attached to the grant and intended to contribute to
the candidate’s participation costs in the EMJD (see Individual EMJD Fellowships Table below).
The beneficiary will not be asked to report on the use of the lump-sum or the fellowship contribution to the
EMJD costs.
Individual doctoral fellowships:
The procedure and criteria applicable to the award of individual fellowships to doctoral candidates are the
responsibility of the selected EMJDs. In order to guarantee a transparent and objective selection of doctoral
candidates, selected EMJDs will have to submit to the Agency, as part of their contractual obligations, a
comprehensive description of their doctoral candidates' selection procedure and criteria prior to the award of
their first Specific Grant Agreement61
.
Individuals wishing to apply for an EMJD fellowship must consult the list of selected programmes and
the detailed information available on the corresponding websites.
For each of the five editions of the EMJDs, a limited number of Category A and B fellowships will be
awarded to doctoral candidates participating in a joint programme. The number of fellowships per category
will be defined on a yearly basis and communicated to the EMJDs in the autumn of the year preceding the
start date of the EMJD edition concerned. As an indication, this number will most probably vary between 6
and 10 fellowships for both categories.
As a general rule, and in line with the principles defined in the European Charter for Researchers and the
Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, EMJD consortia must recruit their Erasmus Mundus
fellowship holders under "employment contracts" except in adequately documented cases (where national
regulation would prohibit this possibility). If such a contract may not be awarded (this will have to be duly
justified in the application form), the EMJD consortium may opt for another approach compatible with
national legislation and the necessary social security coverage for the fellowship holders.
60 Applicants should also consult the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education at http://www.eqar.eu. 61 See http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/beneficiaries/beneficiaries_action_1_en.php
Without prejudice to high academic standards, in order to ensure geographical diversity among the doctoral
candidates, no more than two doctoral candidates with the same nationality should be awarded an EMJD
fellowship in the same Doctorate programme. If consortia wish to diverge from this criterion, prior
permission to do so must be obtained from the Agency.
Individual Fellowships Table
Category A fellowship
(amounts for a 3-year
doctoral fellowship)
Category B fellowship
(amounts for a 3-year
doctoral fellowship)
I
Fixed contribution to the travel,
installation, visa related costs
and any other types of costs
€ 7 500
€ 3 000 - if there is mobility
foreseen to third-country
full/associated partners
II
Fixed contribution to the
doctoral candidate participation
costs62
€ 300 per month (€ 10 800 for 36 months) for non-
laboratory-based EMJDs or
€ 600 per month (€ 21 600 for 36 months) for laboratory-
based EMJDs
III Fixed living allowance
(36 months in total)
- € 2 800 per month (i.e. € 100 800 for 36 months) for
an "employment contract"
- € 1 400 per month (i.e. € 50 400 for 36 months) for a
stipend
Total fellowship amount
Between:
€ 61 200 (for a Category B fellowship with a non-
laboratory-based fixed contribution to participation costs,
with no mobility to a third-country full/associated partner
based on stipends) and
€ 129 900 (for a Category A fellowship in a laboratory-
based field and with an "employment contract")
The fellowship amounts will be paid to the EMJD consortia in the context of the specific grant agreements
issued for each of the five doctorate programme editions63
.
It is the responsibility of the consortium to ensure that the fellowships are paid to the candidates in the
following way:
o Amount I (Contribution to the candidate’s travel, installation, visa related costs and any other types
of costs) will have to be paid in instalments in accordance with the needs of the candidate.
o Amount II (Fixed contribution to the doctoral candidate participation costs) can be charged directly
to the doctoral candidate by the consortium on the condition that the former has signed a “doctoral
candidate agreement” specifying the amount to be charged and the costs/activities covered by it. The
consortium manages this contribution for expenses related to the participation of the candidates in
education and research activities (education and research related costs, attendance at meetings,
62 These participation costs must cover all the mandatory costs for the candidate’s participation in the EMJD, be established
regardless of the actual place of study and research of the doctoral candidates and be transparent to the doctoral candidates (i.e.
clearly published on the EMJD website and described in the Doctoral Candidate Agreement). 63 For newly selected EMJDs, the first Specific Grant Agreement will be issued during the the second quarter of the year following
their selection by the Agency.
45
conferences, etc.). Although the EMJD consortium is free to define the appropriate amount of
participation costs to be charged to doctoral candidates, when determining these fees it should bear in
mind the fixed contribution awarded by the Programme for the doctoral candidate's participation
costs. If the fees established by the consortium are higher than this amount, the consortium should
grant the Erasmus Mundus fellowship holders a fee waiver for any fee amount in excess of this fixed
contribution.
o Amount III (Fixed Living Allowance) must be paid on a monthly basis to the doctoral candidate’s
personal account.
– For "employment contracts", the consortium can deduct the relevant charges and taxes attached to
this type of contract. In that case, this living allowance is a gross EU contribution to the candidate’s
salary costs. The net salary resulting from deducting all compulsory charges in accordance with
national legislation should be equivalent to the stipends amount (at least € 1 400 per month).
– For stipends, the amount of € 1 400 / month must be paid in full to the doctoral candidate through
monthly instalments.
The host organisation may pay a top-up to the candidates in order to complement this contribution as
long as it respects national rules and the eligibility expense criteria of these complementary resources.
The fellowship amount may be increased in order to help cover the additional costs of doctoral candidates
with special needs; EMJDs concerned will have to inform the Agency accordingly in the context of their
Following the evaluation and for each of the geographical lots, a list with the best proposals will be
established. Within the available financial envelope, the list of selected project(s) per lot will be established
as well as a reserve list (if applicable).
For the financial conditions and contractual conditions, please refer to the section 6.2 and 6.3.
6.2 EMA 2 – STRAND 2: PARTNERSHIPS WITH COUNTRIES AND
TERRITORIES COVERED BY THE INDUSTRIALISED COUNTRIES
INSTRUMENT (ICI)73
The Industrialised Countries Instrument (ICI) promotes cooperation with 17 industrialised countries and
other high-income countries and territories in North America, the Asia-Pacific region and the Gulf region
(hereafter referred as third-countries/territories). Based on Article 181A of the Treaty, the ICI will contribute
– together with other EU instruments – to fostering the relations of the European Union with countries and
territories which often share similar values, are important political and trading partners, and play an active
role in multilateral fora and in global governance.
The EU and third-countries recognise the importance of academic cooperation and exchanges as a means to
promote mutual understanding, innovation and quality of education. The higher education systems in the EU
and third-countries/territories have reached levels of quality development that are comparable. They are key
providers of higher education services and are internationalising their systems to attract large numbers of
foreign students. They offer substantial potential for mutually beneficial academic cooperation activities
including exchanges of students, professors and researchers.
In this framework, Erasmus Mundus Action 2 - Strand 2 focuses on cooperation on a regional basis (i.e.
cooperation between EU countries and more than one third-country/territory in a given geographical area). A
region-to-region approach would diversify the partnership options for EU higher education institutions,
encourage regional cooperation among partner countries and resolve or alleviate the imbalances between the
EU educational sector and that of some of the individual third-countries/territories. In certain cases, such
imbalances could in themselves constitute an impediment to sustained bilateral cooperation and the regional
approach would provide a more flexible framework for certain countries and territories to engage in
cooperation with the European Union.
These partnerships should foster mobility in the following categories: masters students, doctoral and post-
doctoral candidates, and higher education academic and administrative staff. The partnerships will contribute
to improving the quality of the education. These projects should be in line with the growing role of the
European Union in the economic and political sphere and reflect the key themes of the EU's relationship
with its industrialised partners.
73 ICI - Instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories. This includes the promotion of
people-to-people links to supplement Erasmus Mundus Action 2 and given the adoption of ICI revision on December 2011, it also
supports the mobility of the European Union students and academic staff to third countries (ICI + under the relevant Lots)
61
The specific objectives of EMA2-STRAND2 activities are:
To support cooperation between higher education institutions with a view to promoting study
programmes and mobility;
To foster the mobility of students, doctorate and post-doctorate candidates between the European Union
and the third-countries/territories by promoting transparency, mutual recognition of qualifications and
periods of study, research and training, and, where appropriate, portability of credits;
To support the mobility of professionals (academic and administrative staff) with a view to improving
mutual understanding and expertise, of issues relevant to relations between the European Union and the
partner countries;
To develop a distinctive value for the promotion of region to region cooperation.
The implementation of the programme shall contribute fully to promoting the horizontal policies of the
European Union, in particular by:
Enhancing the European knowledge-based economy and society and contributing to creating more jobs
in line with the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy and strengthening the global competitiveness of the
European Union, its sustainable economic growth and its greater social cohesion;
Fostering culture, knowledge and skills for peaceful and sustainable development in a Europe of
diversity;
Promoting awareness of the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity within Europe, as well of the
need to combat racism and xenophobia and promoting intercultural education;
Making provision for students with special needs, and in particular by helping to promote their
integration into mainstream higher education, and promoting equal opportunities for all;
Promoting equality between men and women and contributing to combating all forms of discrimination
based on genders, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
6.2.1 THEMATIC FIELDS OF STUDY AND REGION/COUNTRY NEEDS
The EMA2-STRAND2 operates in all fields of study. In this context, projects are strongly encouraged to
implement activities covering areas of study and disciplines identified in the specific lot of the respective
Guidelines to the call for proposals.
6.2.2 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
In this section you will find the overall eligibility requirements for the partnerships. Any specific
requirement for an individual lot must be respected in relation to the eligible country, the eligibility of the
partnership, activities, type of mobility, published in the respective Guidelines to the call for proposals.
Each applicant may submit only one proposal for any specific lot. The same European partnership may
submit proposals to a maximum of two lots, each of which must be submitted in a separate envelope.
6.2.2.a ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS AND CONSORTIUM COMPOSITION
Partnership composition
The minimum partnership will be constituted of:
Five European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) having been awarded an Erasmus Charter from at
least three European Union Member States plus;
At least three Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) covering two or more countries/territories of the
62
corresponding lot: the detailed information on the rules applicable to each of the lots is provided in the
respective sections of the annual Guidelines to the call for proposals.
In order to ensure sound management of the partnership by the applicant, the maximum size of the
partnership is limited to 12 partners.
Applicants / Coordinating Institution
Applicants must:
1. Be a legal person ("legal entity");
2. Be a higher education institution. In order to be eligible as a higher education institution, applicants must
provide courses at the undergraduate, graduate and/or doctoral level of higher education leading to a
qualification recognised by the competent authorities in their own country; they may be called a
“University” or bear some other relevant name (e.g. “Polytechnic”, “College”, “Institute”, etc). Branches
of third-country/territory HEIs located in European Countries or branches of European HEIs located in
third-countries/territories are not considered as eligible applicants (see definition of European country in
section "Definitions and glossary");
3. Be registered in a European Union Member State;
4. Be directly responsible for the management of the activities with their partners, not acting as an
intermediary;
5. Have been awarded an Erasmus Charter before the date of publication of the call.
Partners
Partners must:
1. Be a legal person ("legal entity");
2. Be a higher education institution. In order to be eligible as a higher education institution, applicants
must provide courses at the undergraduate, graduate and /or doctoral level level of higher education
leading to a qualification recognised by the competent authorities in their own country; they may be
called a “University” or bear some other relevant name (e.g. “Polytechnic”, “College”, “Institute”, etc).
Branches of third-country/territory HEIs located in eligible countries or branches of European HEIs
located in third-countries/territories are not considered as eligible partners;
3. Be registered in one of the eligible countries of the Call (see definition of European and Third-country
in section "Definitions and glossary").
Please note that the obligation to be in possession of an Erasmus Charter does not apply to third-
country/territory partner universities. The Agency will ask EU Delegations to liaise with the relevant
authorities of the country concerned in order to ensure that the third-country HEIs included in the consortium
correspond to the definition of an HEI given in Article 2 of the Programme Decision.
Associated members
Other types of organisations from the eligible countries can be involved in the action. Such associates play
an active role in the action but they are not beneficiaries and may not receive funding from the grant.
Associated members do not have to meet the eligibility criteria required of applicants and partners.
The associated members have to be mentioned in the Application and the role they play in the context of the
proposed project has to be described. In specific cases the associates can be a hosting institution, for example
if a placement period is foreseen as part of the study period.
63
Some types of associated members which could be particularly relevant for the objectives and activities of
this programme are: enterprises, chambers of industry and commerce, local, regional or national public
entities as well as research centres, regional institutions of higher education not belonging to any national
system but formally recognised by one of the eligible countries.
It is expected that associated members contribute to the transfer of knowledge and results as well as the
innovation process and assist in the promotion, implementation, evaluation and sustainable development of
the projects.
European students
In order to be eligible, European masters students, doctorate and post-doctorate candidates, referred to as
"European students":
1. Must be a national of an EU Member State;
2. For Target Group 1 (TGI): students need to be registered at one of the European countries HEIs within
the partnership at the time of submitting their application to the partnership. Undergraduate students
must have successfully completed at least one year of studies in their home institution;
3. For Target Group 2 (TGII): students need either to be registered in a HEI (not included in the
partnership) of any European country or to have obtained a university degree or equivalent from a HEI
of any European country;
4. Must have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses or of one of the languages currently
spoken in the hosting countries.
Third-country students
In order to be eligible, third-country/territory master students and doctoral candidates, refered as "third-
country students"
1. Must be a national of one of the third-countries/territories covered by the relevant lot
2. For Target Group 1 (TGI): students need to be registered at one of the third-country HEIs within the
partnership at the time of submitting their application to the partnership. Undergraduate students must
have successfully completed at least one year of studies in their home institution;
3. For Target Group 2 (TGII): students need either to be registered in a HEI (not included in the
partnership) of the third-country concerned by the lot or to have obtained a university degree or
equivalent from a HEI of these third-countries;
4. Must have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses or of one of the languages currently
spoken in the hosting countries.
Academic and administrative staff
In order to be eligible, academic and higher education staff, herafter refered as "staff":
1. Must work in or be associated to one of the HEIs within the partnership;
2. Must be national of an EU Member State or of one of the third-countries/territories covered by the
relevant lot;
3. Mobility assignments must be based on partnership agreements between the members of the
partnership;
4. The home and host universities and the individual staff must agree on the programme of lectures to be
delivered by the visiting teachers, on the research activities or on the type of training to be followed by
64
staff;
5. The exchange may constitute a post-per-post exchange or a one-way visitor flow to or from a third-
country.
6.2.2.b ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
The project will involve the organisation and implementation of student, researcher and staff mobility, the
provision of education/training and other services to foreign students and teaching/training and research
assignments and other services to staff from the country/ies covered by the project.
The activities must take place in one of the eligible countries/territories covered by the respective lot of the
Call and participating in the partnership.
The organisation of the mobility should start in the same year of the application. The partnerships can
organize the students' mobility in several cohorts according to the following timeline.
First cohort – the mobility can start as from September in year "n". The latest date for starting mobility
must be 31 December year "n+1". Any long-term mobility (i.e. 36 months) must start in the first cohort,
in order to ensure that the end date falls within the eligible period.
Second cohort – the mobility can start as from September in year "n+1". The latest date for starting
mobility must be 31 December year "n+2".
Third cohort – the mobility can start as from September in year "n+2". The latest date for starting
mobility must be 31 December year "n+3".
Staff mobility can start in any time within the project duration and must end within the project eligibility
period.
Applicants should note that if their proposal is approved, they will need to submit to the Agency the list of
the actual students and staff selected to benefit from a mobility activity as well as a reserve list indicating the
name, gender, target group, nationality, sending, and hosting institution, field of study, mobility type (see
section "Individual mobility")and duration. In addition, information on the number of total received
applications per mobility type, country of origin and gender has to be provided. The list per type of mobility
must be submitted 15 days before the start of the first mobility of each type and a complete list for all
mobilities by 1st September of year "n+1" at the latest for the first cohort, year "n+2" for the second cohort
and year "n+3" for the third cohort.
The project will be composed of two main parts:
Organisation of mobility;
Individual mobility for students and staff.
The organisation of mobility activities involves creating optimal conditions, through quality support
measures, for students and staff to undertake periods of study/placement/teaching/research/training at partner
universities in other participating countries.
In order to organise the mobility the partnership must:
Draw up a Memorandum of Understanding among the partners with the objective to reach a sound
management of the partnership and address all the aspects linked to the organisation of the mobility
scheme. The Memorandum of Understanding should establish:
o the role of the partners, and their individual involvement in the organisational activities (visibility
activities, communication strategy, preparatory academic activities, etc.);
65
o procedures and criteria for the selection of candidates;
o definition of specific academic arrangements (e.g. for students: agreed examination criteria,
academic recognition of study periods abroad; for staff, the inclusion of courses taught in the
regular programme of the host university; arrangements for student and course assessment, training
programmes etc.);
o clear financial arrangements among the partners regarding the organisation costs and the
management of scholarship.
Develop a clear promotion and visibility strategy for the partnership including, in particular, a dedicated
partnership website referring explicitly to the EMA2-STRAND2 and providing all necessary
information about the partnership from the academic, financial and administrative point of view. This
must include a solid networking strategy reaching as many universities in the third-countries concerned
as possible;
Put in place a mechanism for the selection of students, researchers, academic and administrative staff
that guarantees the transparency of the selection process and an equitable treatment of the individual
applications;
Set up procedures and criteria for the selection of students, academic and administrative staff to take
part in the individual mobility activities. Partnerships must guarantee a minimum duration of at least 45
days following the launch of the call for expression of interest for the submission of candidates'
applications for mobility scholarships. The application procedure and deadline for candidates should be
designed in such a way that it provides the candidate wth all the necessary information well in advance
and with enough time to prepare and submit his/her application;
Provide adequate linguistic support;
Offer the necessary facilities to students (e.g. international office, housing, coaching, assistance with
visas and residence permits etc.), including where necessary services for family members of grantees
and grantees with special needs;
Have put in place an insurance scheme that guarantees that students are adequately covered in case of
accident, injury, illness, etc. while participating in the EMA2-STRAND2;
Set up agreements with students on an individual work programme and on the workload required to
pass any examinations or other forms of assessment (i.e. learning agreements);
Facilitate academic recognition of periods of studying, training, research and teaching ( through ECTS –
Europen Credit Transfer System or other compatible systems) with a view to favouring the creation
and/or implementation of Common Areas of Higher Education. In this sense, it is a minimum
requirement for all partners to consider the study period abroad as an integral part of the study
programme. Full academic recognition will be given by the home higher education institution for the
study period (including examinations or other forms of assessment) spent in the host HEI(s). At the end
of the period of study abroad the host HEI will provide the incoming student as well as the sending HEI
with a transcript of the study confirming that the study programme has been completed. An award of a
diploma supplement is also recommended;
Draw up agreements with academics on the lecture hours to be taught by the visiting academic, that
should form part of courses which are assessed as part of a degree/diploma offered by the host
institution;
Foresee arrangements for the monitoring of outgoing students;
66
Set up internal evaluation and quality assessment mechanisms;
Develop a sustainability strategy by explaining in which way these mobility exchanges consolidate the
existing links with third-countries, how they foster mutual understanding, innovation and quality of
education with the third-countries concerned.
Individual mobility
There are two target groups for individual mobility flows and five different types of individual mobility for
students and staff.
Target Group Target beneficiaries Types of mobility Countries of
individuals
participating in
mobilty
TARGET
GROUP 1 Nationals of the third-countries concerned
by the geographical lot who are registered in
one of the third-country HEIs that is a
member of the partnership.
Nationals of European countries who are
registered in one of the European HEIs that
is member of the partnership.
master,
doctorate,
post-doctorate,
staff
Third-countries of
the lot concerned and
European countries
Third-countries of
the lot concerned and
European countries
TARGET
GROUP 2 Nationals of the third-countries concerned
by the geographical lot, who:
are registered/work in a higher
education institution of these countries
that is not included in the partnership
(students and staff);
have obtained a university degree or
equivalent by an institution of these
countries (students only).
This includes the possibility of providing
mobility opportunities to third-country
nationals working in public administration,
public and private enterprises and non-profit
organisations.
Nationals of European countries who:
are either registered/work in a HEI (not
included in the partnership) of any
European country (students and staff);
have obtained a university degree or
equivalent by a HEI of any European
country (students only).
Detailed information on the type, distribution and number of eligible mobility flows concerning the specific
lots is provided in the respective sections of the annual Guidelines to the call for proposals. Each proposal
will have to cover at least the minimum number of individual mobility flows and has to respect the minimum
and maximum percentage for each type of mobility as requested in the annual Guidelines to the call for
proposals. During the selection of candidates, priority must be given to students and staff under TG 1.
67
Neither European nor third-country students can benefit from a second scholarship for the same type of
mobility under another project under the EMA2-STRAND2. Furthermore, candidates cannot benefit from
more than one mobility activity within the same project.
Mobility flows for students and staff between the European or between third-country institutions involved in
the partnership are not eligible.74
Student mobility may include a placement period (max. 3 months) in the same country of the hosting HEIs
partners or associates, provided that it is preceded by a minimum period of study abroad of six months and
that it is recognised as an integral part of the student’s programme. The placement should be agreed by all
partners concerned and a close monitoring of the students should be ensured.
European higher education institutions are advised to be fully aware of the specific conditions in each of the
third-countries/territories concerned before deciding to send students or staff and to follow the advice of
their Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
The mobility of staff should contribute to strengthen international co-operation capacity of higher education
institutions in third-countries.
It should aim to consolidate and extend links between departments and faculties and to prepare for future
cooperation projects between the universities. Staff mobility is also expected to improve the application of
ECTS or other systems for recognition of studies in the partner institution.
Duration
The duration of a project may vary depending on the lot concerned but cannot exceed 48 months. Detailed
information will be provided in the respective Guidelines to the call for proposals.
The partnership can decide on the duration of the mobility activities within the limits established in the table
below:
Type of individual mobility Students and staff from partnership
European partners Third-Country/Territory partners
Master
from 1 academic semester
to 2 academic year
(24 months max.)75
from 1 academic semester
to 2 academic years
(24 months max.)
Doctorate 6-36 months
Post doctorate 6-10 months
Staff 1-3 months
6.2.3 AWARD CRITERIA
The selection of partnerships will be a competitive process organised by the Agency and based on the
assessment of the quality of the proposal from the academic and organisational points of view. All
applications will undergo assessments by external independent experts according to the five award criteria
74
The travelling and subsistence costs for staff of the partnership for the purpose of the organisation of the mobility must be covered
by the lump sum allocated to the partnership for such purpose. 75 The maximum duration of 24 months for TG I EU Master mobility to third-countries must be limited to few cases and it should be
properly justified.
68
listed below. The maximum that a proposal may obtain is 100%. In principle, proposals which do not reach
the minimum quality threshold of 50% will not be considered for funding.
In addition to the overall quality that will be assessed on the basis of the award criteria below the Evaluation
Committee will consider additional elements such as the geographical coverage within the EU and Third-
countries partners as well as the past or ongoing performance of the partnership within Action 2.
Criteria Weight
1. Relevance 25%
2. Contribution to excellence 25%
3. Quality 50%
3.1 Partnership composition and cooperation mechanisms 15%
3.2 Organisation and implementation of the mobility 20%
3.3 Students’/ staff facilities and follow-up 15%
Total 100%
1. Relevance (25% of the final mark)
Under this award criterion applicants need to state the relevance of their proposal in relation with the
EMA2-STRAND 2 programme's objectives (section 6.2), and how the expected results contribute to
fulfil the requirements defined in the respective Guidelines to the call for proposals.
Applicants will have to show how their proposal will contribute to strengthen the exchange of good
practice and innovation in the relevant fields of study, especially in HEIs with limited or no experience
in Action 2.76
2. Contribution to excellence (25% of the final mark)
Under this award criterion applicants will have to present how their proposal from an academic and
institutional point of view has the potential to contribute to the excellence, innovation by transfer of
knowledge and know how.
3. Quality (50% of the final mark)
Under this criterion the applicant needs to explain the measures undertaken to ensure a qualitative
organisation and implementation of the mobility. It will focus on the expertise of the partnership
proposed to achieve the project's objectives, strategies/procedures and activities in order to organise and
implement the mobility, the services and facilities offered to enrolled students as well as to the way the
partnership intend to ensure an efficient participation of these students in the mobility scheme.
3.1 Partnership composition and cooperation mechanisms (15% of the final mark)
Under this criterion applicants needs to explain cooperation mechanisms, the involvement of
partners in the project, their operational capacity and expertise in order to achieve the project's
objective. In order to enlarge the cooperation scope and enrich future impact partnerships are
requested to involve European and Third-countries HEIs with limited or no experience in Action 2
and describe their contribution in the project.77
76 In order to identify the EU countries and Third-countries that have been less represented in the selected partnerships please consult
the specific statistics "HEIs participation in Action 2" at the following link:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/funding/2014/call_eacea_18_13_en.php 77 See footnote n.77
For Target Group 3 (EMA2-STRAND1) the location of residence of the student and on the other side
the hosting HEI premises.
Distance (km) Fixed-amount (€)
< 500 250
500 – 1 000 500
>1 000 – 1 500 750
>1 500 – 2 500 1 000
>2 500 – 5 000 1 500
>5 000 – 10 000 2 000
>10 000 2 500
Subsistence costs
Participating HEIs must provide the totality of the subsistence allowance specified in the recapitulative table
below to the visiting students/staff. A part should be provided upon arrival to cover installation costs and the
remaining part must be provided on a regular basis.
Participation costs
Participating HEIs must cover the participation costs incurred related to all students /staff independently of
the duration of the mobility. The participation costs may cover tuition and/ or registration fees, additional
library, student unions, laboratory consumable costs, residence permit, language courses costs etc. on an
equal basis to that charged to local and international students. The participating HEIs should apply a fee
waiver policy for mobility inferior to 10 months. Students from partner HEIs will continue paying their
tuition and/or registration fees in their HEI of origin but the hosting HEI must apply a fee waiver policy. In
order to avoid double imposition of fees, in those cases where the hosting HEI requires the payment of the
registration/tuition fees the students must not be charged the same fees by the HEIs of origin. Fees cannot be
charged to post-doctorate mobility for research purposes. Fees concerning post-doctorate studies shall be
justified in detail in the application.
In order to cover the participation costs for incoming students a unit cost of EUR 3 000 for students and
EUR 5 000 for specialised post-doctorate studies will be granted. These costs are granted only for mobilities
of minimum 10 months. 79
Under no circumstances may participating higher education institutions claim participating costs from
visiting students beyond the amounts indicated in the previous paragraph or retain the funding foreseen as
subsistence allowance to cover such costs.
Insurance costs
79
Partnerships may claim for participation costs of 6.000 EUR per student for a mobility period corresponding to 2 academic years
(minimum of 18 months) and 9.000 EUR per student for a mobility period corresponding to 3 academic years (minimum of 27
months ).
71
Participating HEIs must take a full insurance coverage80
(health, travel, accident) to cover the incoming
students and staff participating in the individual mobility activities.
In order to cover the insurance costs, a unit costs of EUR 75 per month for students and staff participating in
the mobility activities will be granted.
Visa costs
Participating HEIs must cover visa related costs for the students and staff participating in the individual
mobility.
In order to accelerate and facilitate the procedure for obtaining the visa for the selected students and staff,
the selected partnerships are strongly advised to contact and liaise with the EU Delegations in the third-
countries/territories as well as the Consulates and the Embassies of the EU Member States in the concerned
countries as soon as they receive the official confirmation of being selected.
Under no circumstances may participating HEIs claim visa costs from visiting students or retain the funding
foreseen as subsistence allowance to cover such costs.
The partnerships should be aware of the taxation policies applied to individual scholarships in the different
participating countries and inform the scholarship holders accordingly. For more information, partnerships
are invited to consult the Erasmus Mundus National Structure concerned (see list under Chapter 8).
For further information on the management of the scholarship, please refer to the EM Financial and
Administrative Handbook published on the EACEA website.
Type of mobility Monthly
Subsistence
allowance Duration Participation costs Insurance
Maximum
amount
(excl
travel
costs)
UNDERGRADUATE
EMA2-STRAND1 (Target Group 1)
€ 1 000
per month
1academic
semester -
10 months81
€ 3 000 for mobility
of minimum 10
months
€ 75
per month € 13 750
EMA2-STRAND1 (Target Group 3)
€ 1 000
per month
1 academic
semester -
36 months
€ 3 000 for mobility
of minimum 10
months
€ 75
per month € 47 700
MASTER EMA2-STRAND 1 (All Target Groups) and EMA2-STRAND2
80 See the minimum requirements for insurance cover on the Erasmus Mundus website. 81 For Undergraduate and Master, mobility of a shorter duration is allowed in duly justified cases and subject to prior authorisation
from the Agency.
72
€ 1 000
per month
1 academic
semester -
24 months 82
for third-
country
nationals
€ 3 000 for mobility
of minimum 10
months
€ 75
per month € 31 800
DOCTORATE
EMA2-STRAND 1 (All Target Groups) and EMA2-STRAND2
€ 1 500
per month 6-36
months
€ 3 000 for mobility
of minimum 10
months
€ 75
per month € 65 700
POST-DOCTORATE
EMA2-STRAND 1(All target groups) and EMA2-STRAND2
€ 1 800
per month 6-10
months
No unit costs for
research activities. € 5 000 per
academic year for
specialised post-
doctorate studies (to
be described in the
application)
€ 75
per month € 23 750
STAFF
EMA2-STRAND 1 (Target Group 1 and 2) and EMA2-STRAND2
€ 2 500
per month 1-3
months Not applicable
€ 75
per month € 7 725
6.4 CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS
“Grant agreement”
If the EMA2 proposal is selected, the Agency will issue a grant agreement, drawn up in euro and detailing
the conditions and financial contribution. The grant agreement will cover the financial contribution for the
organisation of the mobility scheme as well as the individual scholarships allocated to students and staff.
This grant agreement will be signed between the Agency and it will foresee a period of eligibility of the
activities that will vary up to 48 months.
Any modification to the grant agreement must be requested in writing and approved by the Agency. The
types of modifications and their implementation modalities are specified in the Administrative and Financial
handbook, annexed to the grant agreement.
“Payment of the grant”
The Beneficiary will receive pre-financing payments in several instalments, normally in accordance with the
timetable below.
Year "n" Year"n+1" Year"n+2"
First pre-financing Second pre-financing Third pre-financing
50% of the grant 30% of the grant 20% of the grant
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The maximum duration of 24 months for TG I EU Master mobility to third-countries must be limited to few cases and it should be
properly justified.
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The first pre-financing payment will be within 30 days of the date of signature of the grant agreement by the
Agency.
Subsequent pre-financing payments may be made upon submission by the Beneficiary and approval by the
Agency of a Progress report and a mobility list and a payment request demonstrating that at least 70% of the
amounts of pre-financing already paid by the Agency have been spent by the partnership.
The Agency will calculate the final grant amount on the basis of the final report and mobility list submitted
upon the completion of the project. It is based on a calculation using lump sums and unit costs amounts
specified in the financial conditions (see section 6.3).
“Memorandum of Understanding”
The legal representatives and/or their designated representatives of all institutions involved in the partnership
must sign a Memorandum of Understanding in order to ensure the appropriate institutional commitment of
the participating HEIs to the partnership. This agreement will have to cover as precisely as possible all
academic, administrative and financial aspects related to the implementation, management, selection process
procedures, monitoring and evaluation of the activities, including the management of individual
scholarships.
“Student Agreement”
It is the partnership’s responsibility to ensure the active participation of all students in the partnership
activities. In order to guarantee the adequate transparency of the EMA2 participation rules, partnerships are
required to define clearly the student’s obligations and rights in a Student Agreement that will be signed by
both parties at the beginning of the programme. This agreement should define as precisely as possible the
rights and obligations of both parties and cover issues such as:
o The participation costs charged to the student, what they do and (if relevant) do not cover.
o The main milestones in the course calendar, together with the examination periods.
o The student’s obligations concerning his/her attendance to the course/activities and academic
performance, as well as the consequences for not respecting these obligations.
“Learning Agreement”
It is the partnership's responsibility to ensure the recognition of the studies notably the recognition of the
period of studies abroad. In this context the learning agreement and transcript of records should be the basic
documents that ensure the recognition by the home institution of the study period abroad, referring to a
Diploma Supplement, if appropriate. The learning agreement should be signed by the appropriate authorities
at the home, hosting HEIs and the student before the mobility starts.Any change has to be agreed by all three
parties involved.
Model of the Grant Agreement as well as the annexes, are available on the Erasmus Mundus WebPage:
– The applicant/coordinating institution must come from a European country85
;
– Networks of HEIs will be considered as one single participating organisation;
– Eligible participating organisations include:
o Higher education institutions (HEIs) from all countries of the world;
o Erasmus Mundus consortia;
o Public or private bodies active in the field of higher education from all countries of the world;
o Erasmus Thematic Networks selected under the Erasmus strand of the Lifelong Learning
Programme (these will be considered as a single participating organisation).
National organisations acting in their capacity as Erasmus Mundus National Structures are not eligible to
participate in Action 3 attractiveness projects.
Minimum partnership composition:
The minimum partnership is composed of:
– for Enhancing attractiveness/promotion projects, eligible participating organisations from at least three
eligible applicant countries86 and from at least one third country;
84 The timing of these calls will depend on the priorities and activities defined by the Commission in its annual work programme. 85 See the definition of "European country" in Section 2 "Definitions and Glossary".
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– for Internationalisation of Erasmus Thematic Networks, the Network and 15 eligible participating
organisations representing at least 10 different third countries.
7.2.2 ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
Action 3 activities may take place anywhere in the world.
As a general rule, Action 3 projects must:
– have a clear European dimension and a wide geographical scope;
– have a clear international (third-country) dimension;
– contribute to fostering intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding between cultures;
– ensure that they do not overlap with other EU programmes in the field of higher education; projects
falling primarily within the scope of other EU programmes (e.g. Lifelong Learning, Tempus, Youth in
Action, Citizens for Europe, etc.) will not be funded;
– have clear objectives responding to demonstrated needs, clearly defined outputs and expected outcomes
and include a plan to ensure the sustainability of the project and its results beyond the period of funding;
– last between 12 and 36 months and begin their activities in the application year. Only where there are
duly justified reasons, unknown by the applicant at the time of the application and formally approved in
advance by the Agency, can the maximum duration be extended by an additional period of maximum
12 months.
The following types of projects are not eligible:
– projects dealing with information campaigns for individual Erasmus Mundus joint programmes;
– projects aiming at the development of new Erasmus Mundus joint programmes;
– projects seeking to promote single universities/Erasmus Mundus National Structures.
Examples of eligible activities and projects:
– projects relating to countries or groups of countries that have international student flows;
– projects aiming at developing information and communication tools designed to increase the visibility
of European higher education internationally;
– support for events, campaigns or road shows to disseminate and exploit results bringing together
projects and potential third-country users with a particular emphasis on promoting European Higher
Education;
– projects designed to improve the accessibility of European Higher Education, to facilitate mobility to
Europe for third-country students, or to improve the services relating to overseas students;
– development of information kits or innovative instruments on the following themes:
o access to European HEIs and European countries: study visa issues, university entry levels,
recognition of degrees and qualifications;
86 Applicants should note that if the minimum project partnership involves an institution from a country that is not a Member State of
the EU and if that country has not officially joined the programme by the application deadline, the application would become
ineligible. Until the agreement establishing their participation is in force, it is therefore advisable to include institutions from those
countries as additional partners to the minimum project partnership.
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o improving the quality of services provided to students and doctoral candidates, such as academic
counselling and guidance, facilitating mobility within Europe and logistical facilities (housing,
insurance, visa/residence permits);
o methods aiming at integrating students from different cultural and religious backgrounds: designing
material for cultural preparation, counselling services, materials for linguistic preparation;